When I first saw Darren Aronofsky, at a press conference for The Wrestler during the New York Film Festival, I was expecting him to be some shaggy, tortured-looking artist, all mumbles and serious theories. Let's face it-- I was basically expecting a gloomier version of Charlie Kaufman. But instead Aronofsky was, and still is, an affable Brooklynite with a slight accent, a sense of humor, and a clear passion for storytelling.

That's also the guy who walked into the room during last week's Wrestler junket, in the middle of what must be an exhausting press tour. Aronofsky answered questions about Bruce Springsteen and Axl Rose, strippers and pro wrestlers, and the origin of his rockin' mustache. Check out the interview below, the last we'll run from the Wrestler junket. The movie opens today! Get out there and see it-- it's terrific.

You used a documentary cinematographer for this, instead of your usual cinematographer Matthew Libatique. Why make that change?
Matty was busy shooting something. He was on Spike's movie [Miracle at St. Anna]. He had committed to that. We had been trying to raise money for two years. It was all because, as I've talked about a little bit before, every single financier in the world said no to Mickey because they didn't think Mickey could be sympathetic. It reinforced that old thing about filmmaking, that if you've got a gut feeling, no matter how different it is, you've got to just stick with it. When it did come together, it came together really quick.

How did you choose to film the movie in that stripped-down style?
I wanted to do something different from my first three films. The first three films were very, very formal. Every single shot was shot listed, and most of them were storyboarded. And i just wanted to do something radically different. I went to set without a shot list. I really wanted to try from a completely different approach. Also working with someone like Mickey, I wanted to be as unpredictable as Mickey. I wanted him to be free to do anything he wanted, and for my camera to be able to receive it in any way it could.

What unique thing did Mickey bring to the film that made you stick by him?
Everything. He's such a unique performer. He's a zebra. His best friend told me yesterday, you can't take a bucket of white paint and turn a zebra into a thoroughbred. And that's Mickey. he's completely authentic and honest. What comes out of his mouth is not a prepared speech like every other actor you guys run into. He's a live, open wound. He comes from tough times, yet he's got it under control and he's able to turn it into great art;. There's very few actors who approach that.

How much of a fan of wrestling were you before you did this?
Not really. I think a lot of guys my age had sort of an 8-month romance with wrestling when they're kids. It was pre-Hulkamania though. It's something you can't escape growing up here in the States, because it was such a big phenomenon. Yet no one has ever done a serious film about it, and I think it's because most people here say it's fake. They think it's a joke, and then they write it off. If you're jumping 10 feet off the top rope and you're 300 pounds, even if you're trying to protect yourself and your opponent, you're going to feel it. Suddenly there seemed to be some drama. When we started to go to some of these independent leagues, and we met some of these guys, guys that sold out the L.A. forum, Madison Square Garden, now they're out there working for $200 a night to make ends meet, there's something dramatic about that.

Have you screened the movie for members of the wrestling community? About 10 days ago me and Mickey did a BAFTA screening, and I had heard that Rowdy Roddy Piper was in the audience. We had never met. And at the end, the first question was 'Have any wrestlers seen it?' And I said, 'I actually hear Rowdy Roddy Piper is here. Is that true? Piper, you here?' And the back left corner, this huge silhouette steps up. And he goes, 'What you guys did...' And there's a really long pause. 'I don't know where youd id your research...' And there's an even longer beat. I'm thinking, 'This is the beginning of a Q&A, this is a disaster!' Then he broke down, and he said Mickey could not have done a better job. 'It's not my story, but it is my story, and no one else has ever told it.'

Can you talk about the thanks to Axl Rose at the end?
That track "Sweet Child of MIne" which was in the film, which we begged and begged Guns n Roses to give us, and they ended up giving us an incredible deal, all because they're in love with Mickey. The last time somebody used it, it was a million and a half dollars, and we got it for $20,000. The band gave it to us because of Axl and Mickey's old friendship. Then the other thing was that Bruce song at the end. I had nothing to do with it. Mickey wrote a letter to the Boss, who he met 15-20 years ago at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The Boss told me that he was doing that because Mickey is one of the few authentic artists out there. He wrote the song and gave it to us for free. And then he went and got Barack Obama elected, so the guy's got a lot of good vibes from me.

There are a lot of parallels between Cassidy's and Randy's careers, and the film is making links between public consumption of sex and violence. Can you talk about why that seemed like a necessary thread to include, and how you made those connections?
They're amazing, the parallels. As soon as a stripper showed up the script, red flags went up. You can only do this if it's something really original. They both have fake names, they both are onstage creating a fantasy for the audience. Time and age is their great enemy, because their bodies are their tools, and as they get older it gets harder and harder for them to work. And they also wear Spandex. I couldn't resist it. And in our research, where the first idea came form, the reality is when wrestlers take their gate money, they go to the stripclub. There is a real overlap of those two worlds. I think Cassidy's character is as much a romantic foil as she is a mentor in the film. She understands this line between the real world and the fake world, which the wrestler has completely ignored and forgotten.

The mustache is making a comeback, and you're sporting one right now. Any thoughts on that?
It's probably because Brad Pitt's got the mustache in Inglourious Basterds. I bumped into him a couple weeks ago and made fun of it. What happened is I was screwing around. I had been on the road for a couple of weeks promoting the film, and I had the scrub, and Rachel, my partner, was like 'Go shave right now.' I shaved and I was just going to come out messing with her, and she loved it. She went crazy over it. I'm totally stuck with it. Hopefully eventually she'll grow out of it. It was a prank gone bad.